


A Topic Best Not Broached

by Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains



Series: Of Tears and Ash [20]
Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Genre: Banter, Discussion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25753654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains/pseuds/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains
Summary: Orestes is curious about a certain subject, but later comes to regret his curiosity.
Series: Of Tears and Ash [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1050806
Kudos: 8





	A Topic Best Not Broached

It was a pleasant night, the latter portion of the summer having arrived, with its occasional rains and tolerable heat.A grey sort of drizzle had passed over the land earlier in the day, one of the ones which was not too terribly unpleasant to travel though, given that it only spread light sheets of rain upon the land beneath it, rather than a true downpour.The roads were only dampened, with the occasional patch of mud here and there, quite unlike the vast morass of mud that it was sometimes transformed into during the heavier storms which fell at times. 

All in all, Orestes felt that the day’s journey had gone quite well.The last town they had passed through had apparently been quite a profitable stop for the company, and as a result of this fact, the merchants were all in merry moods, talking pleasantly for much of the day.While Orestes couldn’t say that he was particularly pleased by this fact, given that he was generally not inclined to enjoy most of the frivolous topics upon which they conversed at length, he hadn’t had to listen to much of it, as Iphicles and he had taken the rear guard for the day, as had become their usual custom.Thus, he had been fortunate enough to enjoy substantially better conversation with his friend.

Now, they were in the midst of their nightly ritual, as Orestes humorously chose to refer to their habits, though he felt as though it was not an inaccurate description.As usual, the merchants were gathered about the fire talking, though whether it was talk related to trade or to leisurely matters, Orestes wasn’t sure, and frankly, had no interest in confirming one way or another.Either way, it was a discourse in which he most certainly had no desire to take part.

Orestes was seated in one of the wagons, now mostly empty, the greater part of the merchants’ commerce in Thessaly concluded, as they drew nearer to the northern border of the land.As was his wont, Iphicles had also taken up a place in the wagon.They had been talking for the better portion of an hour, and perhaps a half more as well, Orestes estimated.At the beginning, Kadmos had been present as well, though he had taken leave for a good forty minutes by Orestes’s count, which was in truth more guesswork than a precise tabulation of the length of his absence, for his customary walk about the perimeter of the camp.Several minutes ago, however, Kadmos had returned from this habitual patrol, and had rejoined the conversation.At this point, a brief lapse in the discussion had arrived, each man beginning to grow rather weary.Though it had been a pleasant day, it had been a long day, filled with traveling nonetheless. 

Orestes was more than a little tempted to call it a night and turn in for the evening.He could tell, from the expression written across Iphicles’s face, that his companion was considering a similar idea himself.Kadmos’s mask was a somewhat more difficult one to decrypt or interpret, giving that he gave away relatively little information through it.At the moment, this was indubitably true, as his expression was a neutral one, impassive to the point of being utterly inscrutable in Orestes’s eye.Perhaps Kadmos was tired as well, and perhaps he still had a fair degree of energy left within his sinews.Short of asking him directly, Orestes doubted he would be able to discern the true one way or another.Given what Orestes had observed of Kadmos’s constitution, he felt that both options were moderately likely, neither one especially more probable than the other.Natheless, if Orestes was forced to wager a sum of money upon the reality of the matter, he felt that he would lean in the direction of Kadmos experiencing exhaustion as well, and merely skillfully concealing this fatigue.However, Orestes had to admit this was a bet which he would be forced to view as a risky wager of his money and perception ability, in contrast to one in which he had full confidence and felt was exceedingly certain.Kadmos was not the sort of individual who was easily read to the extent that wagers could be made as to the nature of his disposition at any given time without a fair degree of hesitancy on the part of the individuals putting their money on the line.

This idea led Orestes to a related topic: that of games of chance and wit.Personally, he was of the persuasion that such pastimes were best engaged in carefully and with considerable foresight, lest the individual participating lose a good deal of money to the other people involved in the game.He was a decent player of such sports himself, as his hands possessed a fair amount of dexterity, and his mind was astute enough that he could bluff with some art.However, from his past experiences, he knew Iphicles to be a better player of such games than he was.Iphicles was capable of bluffing much more proficiently than Orestes could, and was equally skilled with his hands at the very least, though Orestes had to admit that it was possible that Iphicles was even more skillful than himself in that area as well.The fact that Iphicles was as skillful at such diversions as he was led Orestes to surmise that Kadmos, due to how stoic and reserved he could be, was likely even better at games of chance.Kadmos, from what Orestes had observed, seemed as though he would be the type of person who was capable of giving away next to nothing in the midst of such competitions, making him a formidable opponent indeed, because it would be next to impossible for a competitor to determine the accuracy of any of his statements, or predict the next action he would take.Considering this possibility, which he found to be quite a believable one, Orestes decided that he wished to learn for himself whether his mental suppositions were correct.

“Say now, comrade Kadmos, there is something I’m rather curious about,” Orestes remarked thoughtfully, glancing over to the individual whom he was addressing.

Kadmos, who had been looking down into his lap, as if deep in the middle of some unknown contemplation himself, looked up and over at Orestes.“And what would that be, good Orestes?”

“Do you partake much in games of chance and wit?”Orestes inquired with interest.At this question, Iphicles looked up as well at Orestes, a not unexpected occurrence.Orestes knew his friend was rather fond of such pursuits, and it seemed likely that Iphicles might have interpreted the question as Orestes attempting to initiate a game of the sort.Orestes deemed it likely that Iphicles would be somewhat disappointed when he discovered that this was not in fact the case, and that Orestes was merely interested in ascertaining if his suspicions regarding Kadmos’s level of proficiency in such diversions held any truth.

“From time to time, I’ll have a go at them,” Kadmos replied, sounding as though he had not expected the particular question.

“Do you enjoy such pursuits?”Orestes queried.Iphicles looked slightly excited now.Orestes was sure that his friend was now nearly certain that Orestes was trying to initiate some sort of match.

“I must admit, I am rather fond of them,” Kadmos replied.“Why do you ask?”

“To be honest,” Orestes confessed, “Pure curiosity.My thoughts wandered to the subject matter.I blame it on the lateness of the evening.”

Kadmos chuckled, apparently accepting this answer.Iphicles, on the other hand, looked positively put off by this reveal, as if an unpleasant piece of news had reached his ear.Orestes wasn’t surprised in the least by this fact, considering it likely represented that his friend had reached the realization that Orestes wasn’t trying to initiate a game of some sort.

“Are you skillful in such pursuits?”Iphicles inquired without preamble, asking the very question which Orestes had been about to pose, before Orestes could get the words from his mouth.He shot a glare in his friend’s direction, but Iphicles seemed not to notice it, as his attention was on Kadmos.

“That’s a bold question, good Iphicles,” Kadmos observed dryly.“I’m not one to speak of my skill to one who I might compete against at some point.

“Ah, understandable,” Iphicles responded.“However, the fact that you are wise enough to shy away from such a course of action reveals to me that you are a player of some art.”

Orestes rolled his eyes, well aware that his friend was now attempting to size up Kadmos, with the intent of engaging him in some sort of game.While Orestes would have normally been up for such an activity, even if he had no strong desire to initiate it himself, at the moment, he felt he was a bit too tired to do so.It was obvious that the strength of Iphicles’s fatigue was outweighed by his interest in diversions, not unsurprisingly.Of course, Orestes was in no place to judge, considering all the things which could have outweighed his desire to sleep, probably the wisest option available to him, had they been present at the moment.

“I see that you too must possess a fair amount of adroitness in such affairs as well then,” Kadmos remarked, looking uncharacteristically animated.It was obvious to Orestes now that Kadmos held a similar appreciation of games of chance and wit to Iphicles’s appreciation for them.Orestes was beginning to slightly regret bringing up the matter.

“Ah, now, that I cannot disclose,” Iphicles responded.“Say now though, would you care for a match of Plakoto?I have a Tavli I got not long ago in one of the towns through which we passed.”

“A tempting offer,” Kadmos admitted.“I accept.”Orestes could tell that the other two men were about to be caught up in a match.He pulled himself up to his feet.

“I think I’ll retire for the night,” Orestes remarked.“I will take the third shift, if you two are willing to take the first two?”

Iphicles nodded.“Very well, I’m amenable to that.”

“I too,” Kadmos answered.

“You don’t wish to stay and observe our game though?”Iphicles inquired.

“I think that I’ll pass for tonight,” Orestes confirmed.“I find that I am rather weary.But I wish you both good luck and fortune in your match.May the most masterful challenger emerge victorious.”

“Why thank you,” Iphicles returned.

“Indeed,” Kadmos seconded.

Orestes nodded and climbed from the wagon.He shook his head as he made his way in the direction of his bedroll.It seemed that it was not only Iphicles who was easily persuaded by games of chance and wit, but Kadmos as well.Perhaps it would do him well to polish up on his own skills in the area.Of course, doing so would inevitable involve losing a good bit of money to the other two guards.He sighed, more in resigned amusement than anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one of my HTLJ fics from 2018 (set in my "Of Tears and Ash" AU) that I never posted, but decided I might as well, considering the time I put into them. Once again, since I'm no longer really in the fandom, I'm backdating this to when I wrote it, so no one thinks I'm suddenly back into HTLJ.


End file.
